--- title: Install Libreboot on Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro x-toc-enable: true ... **[PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE INSTALLING](ivy_has_common.md), OR YOU MAY BRICK YOUR MACHINE!! - Please click the link and follow the instructions there, before flashing. For posterity, [here is the link again](ivy_has_common.md).**
Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro
| ***Specifications*** | | |----------------------------|------------------------------------------------| | **Manufacturer** | Dell | | **Name** | OptiPlex 3050 Micro | | **Variants** | OptiPlex 3050 Micro | | **Released** | 2017 | | **Chipset** | Intel Kaby Lake | | **CPU** | Intel Skylake/Kaby Lake | | **Graphics** | Intel HD graphics | | **Memory** | DDR4 SODIMMs (max 32GB, 2x16GB) | | **Architecture** | x86\_64 | | **Original boot firmware** | Dell UEFI firmware | | **Intel ME/AMD PSP** | Present. Can be disabled with me\_cleaner. | | **Flash chip** | SOIC-8 16MiB (128Mbit) | ``` W+: Works without vendor firmware; N: Doesn't work; W*: Works with vendor firmware; U: Untested; P+: Partially works; P*: Partially works with vendor firmware ?: UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME ``` | ***Features*** | | |---------------------------------------------------|----| | **Internal flashing with original boot firmware** | W* | | **Display (if Intel GPU)** | W+ | | **Audio** | W+ | | **RAM Init** | W* | | ***Payloads supported*** | | |----------------------------|-----------| | **GRUB (libgfxinit only)** | Works | | **SeaBIOS** | Works |
Open source BIOS/UEFI firmware ------------------------- This document will teach you how to install Libreboot, on your Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro desktop motherboard. Libreboot is a [Free Software](https://writefreesoftware.org/learn) project that replaces proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware. **Unavailable in Libreboot 20240612 or earlier. You must [compile from source](../build/), or use a version newer than Libreboot 20240612.** ### Buy pre-installed **Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro is available to purchase with Libreboot preinstalled. See: ** Official information about the computer can be found here: ### Warning regarding NVMe SSDs Please use at least Libreboot 20241206 *[revision 3](../../news/libreboot20241206.Revisions.md#revision-3-11-december-2024)* or higher. This is because older revisions contained a bug, where the NVMe SSD would be *replugged* under Linux, randomly, leading to data loss. This is fixed in 20241206 rev3 or higher, by disabling PCI-E hotplug on the NVMe SSD slot. See: [Libreboot 20241206 release](../../news/libreboot20241206.md) ### Build ROM image from source The build target, when building from source, is thus: ./mk -b coreboot dell3050micro_vfsp_16mb Mate Kukri's *deguard* utility disables the Intel Boot Guard on this machine. Libreboot uses this by default, along with `me_cleaner` to provide a neutered ME setup; unlike on other platforms, arbitrary code execution is also possible inside the ME on this motherboard, giving it much higher potential for software freedom in the future. Coffee Lake CPU support ----------------------- 8th/9th generation (Coffee Lake/Coffee Lake Refresh) quad core CPUs likely do work on this board using libreboot, with no modifications required. i3-9300t has been confirmed to work on this board with libreboot without any modifications. There is a pin mod to allow 6/8 core Coffee Lake CPUs to be used, but it doesn't work on this board. It is not currently known whether this is a software limitation that could be fixed in a future release, or a hardware limitation. ### i3-9100t The i3-9100t is cheap, and easy to find. Regarding stepping: B0 stepping is assumed. U0 stepping is untested, and it is assumed that you need the pin mod to be able to use this. At present, we only know that the quad-core 9th gen processors work, e.g. i3-9100t. Note that the T version is for 3050micro, but Libreboot will be adding non-micro optiplexes of 6th/7th gen (MEv11 machines) likely in the Libreboot 26.06 release expected for June 2026. On the higher wattage machines, e.g. OptiPlex 5050 SFF, there are models like the i3-9100 (non-T version) which should work. ### Pin mod Not properly tested yet, but see: * * You could theoretically use 6-core CPUs for example. Without the mod, only quad-core CPUs are supported. It is not known whether this mod would actually work on the 3050 micro. If it does work, this mod is useful because newer generation optiplexes have a newer version of Intel ME, where it is not yet known how to disable the Intel Boot Guard. Retrofitting newer CPUs onto these older boards is a good way to modernise them somewhat. NOTE: the `MAINBOARD_SUPPORTS_COFFEELAKE_CPU` option must be enabled in coreboot menuconfig, for those CPUs to work. This also means that the microcode will be loaded properly. This is currently enabled by default, on 3050micro. Please also see: This coreboot gerrit note says to modify the IFD accordingly, when using the higher core CPU models. It is believed that all 9100/9100T will have B0 stepping, but this is not guaranteed. Some may have different stepping. Please make sure you know what stepping your CPU has when doing any of this. Issues ------ This machine basically works flawlessly, as of the Libreboot 20241206 release. All the initial bugs were fixed, e.g. PWM fan control works now. A very nice machine, and inexpensive, plus very easy to set up for the average user. The ideal Libreboot desktop. Note that HDMI audio *does* work, but you have to select it in your audio server e.g. pipewire. The `pavucontrol` utility in Linux (with pipewire) lets you have a lot of control over audio I/O. Libreboot patches the board to add a verb, so headphones should work. Selection of audio devices and outputs is a bit idiosyncratic on this board. Just play with pavucontrol for your setup and it should work fine. ### VGA output All 3050 Micros have one Displayport and one HDMI output. These work very well, but a few models have a VGA output via add-on board. The VGA output is actually a digital to analog converter internally, on an expansion board mounted to the rear chassis. In testing, this worked fine with the Libreboot payloads e.g. SeaBIOS and GRUB, but then Linux wouldn't show any output to the screen. This should be investigated/fixed, but for now, you might use your own digital to analog converter. For example, Displayport to VGA converters are very cheap and easy to find. Linux can be hit or miss with these adapters, as can libgfxinit (when showing payloads), so you just have to try a bunch of adapters until one works. The onboard DisplayPort and HDMI outputs work fine. It's just the VGA port that can be a bit flaky depending on your operating system. Installation ------------ ### Insert binary files If you're using a release ROM, please ensure that you've inserted extra firmware required refer to the [guide](../install/ivy_has_common.md) for that. (failure to adhere to this advice will result in a bricked machine) Libreboot's build system automatically downloads and processes these files if you build Libreboot from source, but the same logic that it uses must be re-run if you're using a release image. Of particular interest, this board uses the [deguard](deguard.md) software, to disable Intel Boot Guard. This means also that the ME firmware no longer has functional cryptographic signature checking for most of it; you can theoretically run whatever you want on the ME coprocessor. Libre ME doesn't exist yet, but it's now possible. Example use-case for a libre ME could include, for example, running an out-of-bound packet filter on a secure network (with flash write protection, making it invincible to any OS-based software attacks). ### MAC address This has a Realtek NIC inside, instead of Intel, so the MAC address will not change. This means: there is no GbE region in the flash. You can still use something like `macchanger` to change your MAC address from Linux if you want to. This is great, because that's one less complexity to deal with during installation. ### Flash a ROM image (software) If you're already running Libreboot, and you don't have flash protection turned on, [internal flashing](../install/) is possible. Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro service jumper If you have factory firmware (Dell), you can short the service jumper. It's near the RAM, under where the HDD goes (click the photos shown above). Just put a short on it when booting, and all flash protection is disabled; the factory firmware write might EFI variables to flash during shutdown sequence, so you should *pull the plug* to shut it down (remove the power by pulling the plug) after flashprog says `VERIFIED`. ### Flash a ROM image (hardware) For general information, please refer to [25xx NOR flash instructions](../install/spi.md) - that page refers to use of socketed flash. The side cover comes off easily, and you can find the flash ICs next to the RAM. Simply remove the screw at the back. The top panel then slides forward, and you can remove the SSD caddy; from then on, the flash is accessible. Observe the following photo of the flash (SOIC-8): Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro flash IC You can otherwise flash internally, including from factory firmware (if the service jumper is set). Errata ------ ### Power-on after power failure Older Libreboot revisions made this machine always turn on, when plugging in a power supply (charger brick), if a previous power loss was observed. This is because coreboot sets a special register in the PMC that configures such behaviour, but it was hardcoded to always-on. This is undesirable for most people, so Libreboot 20241206 *revision 8* and newer releases contain the following modification: If you wish to modify this behaviour again, you could modify the patch referenced there; the actual location of the `.patch` file may change over time, so you can basically just modify the coreboot source file at `src/soc/intel/common/block/pmc/pmclib.c` (for the coreboot tree under `src/coreboot/` in lbmk, pertaining to your board, which can be determined by reading the `tree` variable in your board's `target.cfg` file within lbmk). Use the patch as reference, to modify the coreboot behaviour as you wish, and re-compile [from source](../build/). ### TPM disabled The TPM is disabled on this device, to prevent hanging/boot delay in SeaBIOS, due to buggy TPM drivers there. ### Legacy 8254 timer Legacy 8254 timer enabled in coreboot, to prevent SeaBIOS from hanging. ### HyperThreading on 3050 Micro NOTE: The 3050 Micro is available in different CPU configurations. Before considering to enable HyperThreading support, make sure it is supported by the CPU of your 3050 Micro. Also called SMT. This is a feature where you get 2 threads on a single core. It can improve performance in some workloads, but is actually a performance liability in others, depending on your OS kernel/scheduler and the actual workload. It is a security liability, due to the Spectre/Meltdown attacks, so we recommend turning it off, at the very least from your running operating system. On *this* platform, you can easily turn it off from coreboot. **Libreboot disables HyperThreading by default**, from Libreboot 20241206 rev8 onward, on this board. To turn it back on, please [build from source](../build/) and before running the build command, do this: ./mk -m coreboot dell3050micro_vfsp_16mb In the menu that appears, go *Chipset -> Enable Hyper-Threading* and turn it on. Then exit from the menu, saving the config where prompted. You will see this menu twice, because there are *two* configs for each of these boards. SMT is rarely of benefit in practice, but can be useful in some circumstances. For example, if you're compiling a large codebase from source that takes hours, SMT increases the building speed by about 15 percent; for example, a 3 hour build job might take about 2 hours and 40 minutes instead. [//]: # "SPDX-License-Identifier: GFDL-1.3-or-later"